Needle-beam for railroad-cars.



PATBNTED JAN. l, 1907.

H. M. PPLAGER.

vNEEDLE BEAM `FOR. RAILROAD GARS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.30. 1906.

Q@ uw@ UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIIoE.

HARRY M. PFLAGER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO CAST STEEL NEEDLE BEAM* COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.l

NEEDLE-BEAM FOR RAILROAD-CARS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented .I an. 1, 190'?.

Application filed August 30, 1906. Serial No. 332.647.

To all whom it may concern:-A

Beit known that I, HARRY M. PFLAGER, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Needle- Beams for 'Railroad-Cars, ofl which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the needle-beams or cross-frame tie-timbers of .a car-body und rframe, and has for its object to provide allstrong, simple, rigid, and durable needlebeam adapted to pass beneath the lower middle longitudinal sills and to firmly support the same, With the intermediate sills (if any) and llooring of the underframe between the side members of the car-body and having the queen-postsv for the truss-rods combined integrally therewith or not according to the particular ysystem of trussing adopted or trusses of the carfor the side members body.

The invention consists in features of novelty, as hereinafter described and claimed,

referencev being had to the accompanying `drawings, forming part of this s pecication,

whereon- 'Figure 1 1s va side elevation of my im roved needle-beam; .-Fig. 2, a top -plan view t ereof;

Fig. 3, a vertical transverse section through the'needle-beam on line 3 3 in Fig. 1, and Fig. 4v an end elevation thereof.

Like letters and numerals of'reference denote like parts in all the figures. v

a. represents my improved needle-beam, which is composed, preferably, of cast-steel integral throughout and either I-shaped in cross-section, as shown, or otherwise, as desired. The beam a in the present case eX- tends between and is fixed at itsr ends 1 to the angle-irons '2, forming partsof metallic'.l

trussed side members (notshown) of the carbody, the adjacent end portions 3 ofthe beam against and support the lowermiddlelongitudinal metallic (or Wood) sills 5, which are arranged beneath' the normal bottom level o f i the car-body, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, the depressed middle ortion 6 of the beam' aJ being preferably I-s aped in crosssection, of suitable depth and strength, and uniting with the end and adjacent `portions 1 and 3, which preferably taper therefrom at the bottom toward their minimum depth at the ends of the, beam a, the compression member of the depressed middleportion 6 bearing at the top against the under side of the middle sills 5, as shown.

Suitable lightening holes 7 are formed transversely through the upright web or body of the end and adjacent portions 1 and 3 of the beam a, as shown.

By making the beam a integral throughout and ada ting the depressed middle portion 6 thereof Beneath the sills 5 to bear'both the compression `and tension strains 'Without'the use of a compression `member arranged above and of a separately-constructed tension member with its fastenings tothe body vofthe beam below the sills 5 a rigid structure is insured whereby the underframe and flooring of the car between the side trusses or members are supported firmly and braced together transversely and the car-body correspondinglyfstiffened- In cases where the side members of the underframe are trussed below the'sills in the usual well-known manner I preferably form the queen-posts 8 for the truss-rods integral with the needle-beams a, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1.

' What I claim asv my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A needle-beam'for a car underframe, consisting of an integral casting fixed at its ends to the side trusses of the car, and having its adjacent portions adapted to support the underframe thereat, the said beam having ar depressed middle portion extending beneath sis and adapted to support thelower middle longitudinal sills of the said frame, and queenposts for the truss-rods dependent from and integral with the said beam, substantially as described.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name to this specification in'the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HARRY un PFLAGER.

Witnesses:

CHAELEs W. BLOCK, VAEDWARD W. FUERELL. 4 j 

